Improvement in musical pitch-pipes



om W. H, CLARKE.

improvement m Musca Pch Pgs,

No, 122,879, Pateniedamzsnsm.

PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. CLARKE, OF DAYTON, OHIO.

IMPROVEMENT IN MUSICAL PITCH-PIPES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 122,879, dated January 23, 1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. CLARKE, of Dayton, in the county oi' Montgomery and State of' Ohio, have invented a new and useful Improvementinthe art oi' constructing Musical Pitch-Pipes, cij which the following is a specitication, referring to the accompanying drawin Figure l is a view of my improved pipe, partly in elevation and partly in section. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section, shou'in a modication ol" the same 5 Fig. 3, a similar section on an enlarged scale ot a part ofthe instrument.

M y invention relates to that class of musical instruments or pitch-pipes into which air is blown, and in which the tone is varied by increasin g or diminishin the depth oi' the column of air contained in the pipe by means ot a plunger or tampion Working air-tight in the pipe; and the improvement consists in a novel combination and construction of the parts of the instrument hereinafter set forth.

In order to carry out my invention I construct a pitch-pipe, A, oi' Wood or other suitable material, and oi' round or polygonal form. The length may be varied under certain circumstances Well known to musicians. Ordinarily I prefer one about fourteen and a-haltl inches long and oi' one inch bore. One end of this tube is tltted With a mouth-piece, B, so constructed as to leave an air-space or cell, b, between the inner end ofthe mouth-piece a-nd the end ofthe tube, and is made. removable, so that the air-space or cell can be readily cleaned o f any moisture that might accumulate fr0 m the breath. The tube has an opening, A', in its side, as usual, for the escape of air. Between this opening and the end of the mouth-piece is a block, C. From the cell b is a passage between the mouth-piece B and tube A, leading under the lip F and over the lip or languid E to the opening A. The cap or block F forming the under lip, and the plate E i'orming the upper lip or languid, are made of either metal or Wood. A plunger or tampion, D, tits the tube air-tight, but moves freely therein. The rod d of this plunger is slotted longitudinally, as shown in Fig. l, or has a spiral groove, Gr G, as seen in Fig. 2. A pin or screw, d', passing through the pipe and through this slot or into the spiral groove, prevents the plunger from being drawn out while allowing it to move freely therein. This plunger or tampion is marked with a musical scale, consisting' of symbols ofthe various tones of the diatonic scale and all the chromatic intervals ('liats and sharps) included in one octave from middle C to the octave above. By moving the plungerI or tampion in or out the column oi' air in the tube is varied, and by blowing in the mouth-piece the exact tone desired can be given with mathemati al precision, the scale indicating the adjustment of the instrument to the note desired, as the plungeris moved in or out until the symbol of that note appears at the end ci' the tube.

I do not, broadly, claim a sliding plunger in a pitch-pipe, that being old.

I claim as my invention- The combination of the tube, mouth-piece block, languid, plunger, and stop-rod, substantially as set forth.

VILLIAM H. CLARKE. Witnesses:

L. H. INGEnsoLL, GEO. M. YOUNG. 

